OpenAI Abandons Its Sora Video Platform to Focus on Super App

This shift marks a retreat from a fragmented do-everything product strategy as the company prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

CEO Sam Altman informed staff on Tuesday (March 24) that the company will wind down products using its video models, including the consumer app, the developer version of Sora, and planned video functionality within ChatGPT.

The decision to discontinue Sora follows internal concerns regarding the massive computing resources required for the project despite a lack of clear market demand. Originally launched in September to create a social feed of AI-generated content, Sora became a side quest that OpenAI can no longer afford as it faces stiff competition from Anthropic.

To streamline operations, OpenAI is consolidating its ChatGPT desktop app, Codex coding tool, and Atlas browser into a single super app. This unified platform will prioritize agentic capabilities, software that can autonomously carry out tasks like writing code and analyzing data directly on a user’s computer. This realignment aims to secure more defensive, lucrative revenue streams from enterprise and developer clients ahead of its public market debut.

Since the beginning of the month, PYMNTS has reported that OpenAI is shelving side projects to focus on core business lines and positioning itself for a possible IPO tied to enterprise applications.

OpenAI is reportedly negotiating deals with private equity firms like TPG and Bain Capital to distribute enterprise products to their clients, boosting corporate adoption while helping portfolio companies manage AI disruption.

The company also has made strategic hires in advance of the possible IPO reportedly happening at the end of the year, including naming former DocuSign CFO Cynthia Gaylor to lead investor relations.